Stocks surge on tech results

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks surged higher on Wednesday, with the Dow rising nearly 200 points and the Nasdaq rising 2%, as Wall Street rallied behind solid earnings results out of the technology sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 187 points, or 1.5%, to close at 12,454. The blue-chip measure closed at its highest level since June 2008.

The S&P 500 (SPX) added 18 points, or 1.4%, to 1,330; and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP) rose 58 points, or 2.1%, to 2,803. It was the best single-day performance for the Nasdaq this year.

Wednesday's rally was all about tech earnings, with Intel, Yahoo and IBM all reporting solid results after the close on Tuesday.

"I was pretty amazed by Intel's results in particular," said Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager with Synovus Trust Co., who follows technology closely. "Yes the economy continues to struggle, but tech is holding its own."

"Even with losses caused by the S&P comments on Monday, we made back those losses and more," said Michael James, senior equity trader at Wedbush Morgan Securities.

Companies: United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500) reported a profit of $1.11 per share Wednesday, up 19% from a year earlier. The aerospace and machinery maker's stock jumped 4%, making it the second-best performer on the Dow after Intel.

"Markets are looking at the earnings season in general, and even though the rate of growth isn't as great as last quarter, it's still trending the right way," said Frank Fantozii, president and chief executive of Planned Financial Services in Cleveland.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) shares rose 2.5% in after-market trading after Apple's earnings came in at $6.40 a share, well ahead of the $5.35 analysts had expected. However, the company gave lighter-than-expected guidance for its third quarter.

International power company AES (AES, Fortune 500) announced that it will buy DPL (DPL), the parent company of Dayton Power & Light Company, for $4.7 billion. Shares of AES rose 3%, while Dayton Power's stock jumped 9%.

Shares of American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) fell 2% in after-market trading despite the company reporting better-than-expected earnings and sales for its first quarter.